Category: Photography

DEAL: 50% Off The Art of Black and White Photography Online Course
This week’s deal over at our sister site – SnapnDeals – is one that I know will appeal to a lot of dPS readers.

It is 50% off The Art of Black and White Photography Online Course at Udemy.

Created by David J. Nightingale this course will help you to:
- Master the techniques to create amazing black and white photographs.
- Make more of your black and white portraits.
- Learn from a world-renowned expert.
It contains over 19 lectures and 6.5 hours of content – all delivered online.

It is normally $ 79 but this week through SnapnDeals it is just $ 39.50 USD. Check it out at SnapnDeals.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

DEAL: 50% Off The Art of Black and White Photography Online Course

Digital Photography School
March 7, 2013
Quick Tip: Importing to Lightroom Made Easier

Introduction

This tutorial is from the Lightroom 4 Workshop Collection. Including 27 hours of A to Z Lightroom 4 education and the industry standard Lightroom 4 Preset System. DPS users can get 10% off by using the DPS10 coupon code upon checkout. Click the link above to learn more/purchase.

Overview

In this tutorial, we will give you a quick tip when importing image into Lightroom that will eliminate the need to search around for import and destination folders.

Step 1. Create Your Catalog

If you don’t already have a Lightroom catalog created, then let’s go ahead and create one now. Simply open Lightroom and go to File -> New Catalog.

Give your Catalog a descriptive name and a destination folder of your choice. Remember to keep your naming conventions consistent to have an efficient and organized workflow. Our naming convention is as follows:

YEAR.MONTH.DAY – NAMES PHOTOGRAPHY TYPE

So, for this example we have the following:

2013.02.11 – Cesar and Ashley Engagement which is typed into the File name location shown in the image below.

After you hit “Save”, Lightroom will close and re-open with the New Catalog which is ready for images to be imported.

Step 2. Creating the “Folders”

We will be directly importing the images into a folder on the left-side Panels called “Folders.” But, first we have to create a folder for the images to be imported into. On the Folders Panel, simply click the “+” icon to create a new folder as shown below.

Now, select the same folder where we saved our catalog to create the folder where we want to place the original images. We do this to ensure that the images always move with the catalog if the catalog is ever transferred.

To create new Folder for your original images, right-click within the Folder content area and select “New Folder”. Remember, we are doing this all from the “Add Folder” dialogue in Lightroom, not in the Operating System.

Type in “00_Originals” or the name of your choice for the Folder to contain your original images. Again, keep your naming conventions consistent for better organization. Then click “Select Folder”.

Step 3. Importing Directly to Folders

Now that we have our folder created. We have two options to import. Option number 1 is to Right-click on the Folder that shows up under the Folders Panel and select “Import to this Folder” as shown below.

This will pull up our Import Dialogue and automatically set the destination to the “00_Originals” Folder without having to manually select our destination as we normally would.

Workflow Tip: Apply a Workflow Preset on Import

Before you begin the Import process, we always select an import preset that is most applicable to the type of images being imported. In our studio, we generally use the “Extra Soft Color” Preset for portrait sessions from the Lightroom 4 Preset System by SLR Lounge as shown below.

When you are finished, select “Import” located on the bottom-right in Lightroom.

And that’s it! Hopefully this little quick tip on importing will help you to import images just a bit more efficiently.

Learn More with the Lightroom 4 Workshop Collection!

This was a sample tutorial from the Lightroom 4 Workshop Collection. A collection of nearly 30 hours of video education teaching everything from Lightroom basics to advanced raw processing techniques.

The LR4 Workshop Collection also includes the critically acclaimed Lightroom 4 Preset System which is designed to enable users to achieve virtually any look and effect within 3-5 simple clicks. From basic color correction, vintage fades, black & white effects, tilt-shift effects, faux HDR, retouching, detail enhancing, and so much more. Click the links above to learn more.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Quick Tip: Importing to Lightroom Made Easier

Digital Photography School

March 7, 2013
Why Your Camera Settings Don’t Matter

Have you ever opened up a photography magazine, saw a photo you liked and spotted the little blurb which reveals the camera settings? The conclusion you might be tempted to make is that the aperture, focal length, shutter speed, ISO and flash settings you see there somehow “made” that photo. And worse, you might try to remember those settings as Continue Reading

The post Why Your Camera Settings Don’t Matter appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

March 7, 2013
How I Will Publish One Million Photographs Before I Die

My friend Chris Guillebeau sent me an email this morning about my uploads to Flickr. One of the things I love about Chris is that like me he is a big dreamer/achiever. For those of you who don’t know him, you should get to know him. He’s a huge motivation and someone who can help you achieve great things as well. Chris wrote up a really nice interview on my photography a few years back.

One of the things that Chris wanted to do was to visit every country in the world by April 7, 2013. For this goal he is using the United Nations list of 193 member states. You know what? He’s visited 192/193 so far. WOW! His Brief Guide to World Domination should be required reading for every person in the world. It should be taught to students especially.

I sincerely believe human beings are capable of so much more than they think they are. Unlocking our true potential and power comes from some very basic tools and techniques that can be learned. In 2005 I read a book that dramatically changed the way I think about my own life by Brian Tracy called Focal Point. I’d encourage you to buy this book and read it. It’s probably the most important book I’ve ever read. If you’ve got kids buy it for them and give it to them as well. It teaches you how to accomplish great things.

One of the things that I’ve decided that I want to do with my own life is to publish one million photographs before I die. When I talk about publishing a million photographs, I’m not talking about simple shutter actuations — I’ve already taken over a million frames. Anyone can push a shutter a million times. You could probably train a monkey to do this. Anyone can even publish a million meaningless photo clicks to the web — many in fact already have.

My quest is not simply quantity over quality. What I’m focused on is publishing one million *quality* photographs that I believe in and care about as personal art — photos that I can be proud of. Each photo I choose to publish is carefully selected amongst many different frames from a shoot. Each photo is individually worked with, processed, edited with software, keyworded, and frequently hand titled and geotagged (although not always, for those last two points). Occasionally I will create more than one version of a single frame, but each photo is unique and different.

Although I publish my photos to many different sites on the web, Flickr is where I’m presently maintaining my larger body of work. What a deal Flickr is — unlimited high res photos for $ 24.95/year. Nobody comes close to touching this. In addition to this great value, Flickr comes with great presentation tools, an awesome new iPhone app and a pretty terrific social network too.

At present I’ve published 79,783 photographs to Flickr. In addition to these published photos, I’ve got an archive of about 22,000 fully completed and finished photos in a folder ready to go to Flickr. Each day I publish about 30 more of these to the site, pretty much at random — or about 11,000/year.

Which brings me back to Chris’ email earlier this morning. Chris is working on a new book right now and for the book had asked me some questions last month about my photography. He was following up today to confirm that last year I published about 11,000 new photos to Flickr — which I’m going to confirm with him shortly after finishing this post — but in considering this, I realize that the 11,000 number for 2012 is problematic. It’s problematic because if you assume that I continue on at this pace, I will need to live 84 more years to realize my goal of 1,000,000 photos. At age 45 today, it is highly unlikely that I will live to be 129, and so at my present pace, this sets my goal up for failure if people take my publishing rate today at face value.

My goal is much more complex than simply 11,000 photos per year for the rest of my life though. I’ve thought about my lifetime goal for many, many hours and my plan to achieve it is more complicated than a simple number for 2012 might suggest.

I’ve actually worked out my lifetime achievement goal in rough form with a spreadsheet as I’ve developed my thinking. At present what I plan on doing is increasing my publishing rate of photos by 2% per year during the next 10 years. The reason why I’m publishing less photos today is primarily because I’m so focused on actually shooting the photos today. I want to spend the time in my life when I’m most physically fit shooting the most. I also think that time/age frequently add interestingness to many photos. So I’d rather capture photos here and now today than in the future.

If I increase my publishing 2% each year for the next 10 years (something I’m very confident I’d be able to do even with my current unpublished archive alone) I should have about 200,000 photos published 10 years from now.

10 years from now my last of four children, Kate, will (hopefully) be leaving us for college. With all four of my kids out of the house, I will likely spend less time on my children than I do today. So 10 years from now I will increase my publishing rate even more, about 5% per year — more time for shooting but more importantly, more time for processing. In 10 years I’ll have approximately 370,000 photos published.

20 years from now, not only will my kids (again, hopefully) be done with college, but I’ll also be able to retire from my day job at around age 65. This will then free me up 100% to focus my time and energy on photography. I plan to increase my publishing rate by 10% per year then.

After age 65 the proportional rate of time spent shooting vs. processing will likely flip flop from what I’m doing today as well. Instead of spending 80% of my time shooting and 20% of my time processing, like I do now, I’ll likely spend 20% of my time shooting and 80% of my time processing. When you’re an old man (not that 65 is old, but I’ll get older likely after that) it’s a lot easier to sit in front of a computer and process than it is to run around the country staying up 20 hours at a stretch and shooting.

If I follow this strategy, and the part between age 65 and 80 is super important, I will publish 1 million photos when I am 80. Government life expectancy tables today give me until age 83 to live, but I wanted a few years as a buffer in case I kicked the bucket early.

My biggest challenge in all of this is maintaining my unpublished archive. I want this archive to grow larger and larger and larger, even as my published work grows as well. By growing my unpublished archive larger, I ensure that greater and greater diversity will be represented in my daily publishing. This is a secondary goal of mine, to have as much diversity with what I publish as possible. 20 years from now I like the idea of a photo from 2010 being published alongside a photo from 2015 and one from 2020. I like the idea of my photos been diversified not just by time, but by location (I’ll shoot more and more locations over my lifetime), subject matter (I’ll shoot more and more different things), style (my style will evolve and change), etc.

As I pursue this lifetime goal I’m also cognizant of a powerful tailwind at my back — technology. Technology will make my goal easier and easier to achieve. Already in 2013 I’m blown away at how much faster I can process my work than two years ago. Going from hard drives to flash storage, going from USB to Thunderbolt, faster macs, better cameras, all contribute to ensuring that I will be able to keep pace in the future even as I grow my publishing rate. For the first time, this year, I’ve felt like the only thing holding me back with my processing is actually me. For the first time with the hardware and software advances, I feel like I’m working and editing my work in real time. The future is indeed bright for the future tools that will not only continue to make our images look better, but which will also help us do more faster.

One final note — this goal is intensely personal for me and me alone. I created it, I live it, I fuel it. Over the years I’ve had many who have been critical of my goal. Many don’t understand that quantity can also be quality. Many have expressed an opinion that taking so many photos somehow diminishes my work. Many people have a desire to produce less, not more. All of this is fine. Everyone can do whatever they want. This is just what *I’m* doing. I’m not saying that this is the right path for anyone other than me and me alone. I’m not making a larger statement about photography in general, or saying that people that don’t keep my path/pace are in any way less significant as artists or photographers.

While I’ve personally admired many of the most prolific artist/photographers in the world (Warhol, Eggleston, Winogrand, Friedlander, etc.), I also admire many photographers and artists who make great art in smaller but more intense doses too. Whatever YOU do is fine. Be true to yourself and follow the artist that is inside of you.

Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

March 7, 2013
Making Sharper Wildlife Photographs – [Part 2 of 2]

House Finch perched on a spruce tree branch: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS lens, 1.4x Extender II and 2.0x Extender II @1400mm, 1/400th of a second at F10, ISO 800, Gitzo 3541 Tripod with Jobu Design BWG-Pro gimbal head

A contribution by Paul Burwell from Burwell School of Photography

In my last article I discussed the sort of equipment the average person might afford and use for wildlife photography. We discussed lenses and teleconverters along with tripods and monopods. This time, we’re going to look at how you use that equipment to come away with the sharpest possible images.

Tripod Heads

My first piece of advice is to learn how to use your tripod along with whichever type of tripod head you have. My recommendation for wildlife photography is to use some sort of Gimbal head like the excellent models sold by Canadian company Jobu Design.

These heads allow you to balance the lens/camera over top of the tripod while providing finger tip control. If you’re using a monopod, I’d mount the lens either directly to the monopod or use a quick release plate. At the risk of sounding like a children’s piano tacher, and not meaning to pester, but you do need to practice with this gear to become proficient. Photographic opportunities in the wild are often fleeting and you’ll need to rehearse so that when the time comes you’re making great images and not fumbling with knobs and latches.

Shutter Speeds

Another aspect of making sharp images is using a fast enough shutter speed. As a rule-of-thumb when photographing off of a tripod or monopod, you’ll want your shutter speed to come close to matching 1/2 of your focal length. This rule means that if I’m photographing at a focal length of 400mm, I’ll want to make sure that I’ve got a shutter speed of at least 1/200th of a second to make a sharp image of a stationary critter. If there’s a lot of action going on and you want to freeze the motion, shutter speeds of 1/500th of a second or quicker may be required. I’m also not afraid to use my camera’s higher ISO settings to get a higher shutter speed if required.

There is little doubt that today’s lenses with their built-in gyroscopes to help stabilize the image go a long way in letting photographers get away with slower shutter speeds than the one over the focal length rule of thumb would allow for.

Many of today’s stabilized lenses claim that they can save three or even four stops of shutter speed and still return sharp results. My experience has been that these lenses (IS for Canon users, VR for Nikon shooters, OS or some variation thereof for the rest) do make a tremendous difference and are especially useful in low light shooting conditions. Look at many of my pictures and you’ll see I’m a big beneficiary of this new technology.

Muskrat pauses while eating: Canon 1Ds Mark II, Canon 500mm F4L IS lens, 1.4x Extender II and 2.0x Extender II @1400mm, 1/500th of a second at F10, ISO 640, Saddle-shaped bean bag from vehicle window

The Eyes Have It…

Another trick for making sharper images comes down to the connection between the camera and your body. While it might seem to make sense to just lightly rest your eye against the camera’s viewfinder, I suggest you do the opposite. When I’m photographing using telephoto lenses, I physically push my eye as firmly as possible against the viewfinder (or in my case glasses which leaves them very greasy at the end of a photo session).

This technique allows the mass of my body to help dampen vibrations the camera might be experiencing. Next, I hold the camera with my right hand positioned to press the shutter release and make adjustments to the camera’s settings. My left hand gets draped over top of the lens. Again, we’re trying to use our body’s weight to help dampen vibrations and steady the rig as much as possible.

Now that I’ve got my camera equipment mounted on a suitably weight-rated tripod or monopod, I’ve chosen a suitable shutter speed AND I’ve positioned my body against and on the camera to ensure steadiness, all I’ve got to do is shoot away and I’m good, right?

Squeeze the Shutter Release

Not quite. The next trick is to learn how to press the shutter release. If you were a casual observer watching just my finger on the shutter release, I’d wager you’d never be able to accurately guess when I’d made a photograph. And that’s because I’ve practiced my technique to the point where, much like the way a sniper squeezes the trigger on a rifle, I can release the shutter on my camera with the same controlled almost indiscernible action.

While I’m photographing, my shutter finger never loses contact with the shutter button and I’m not so much pressing it as I am squeezing it. Remember to squeeze and never stab the shutter button. When photographing wildlife at the longer telephoto lengths, you need to keep all of your actions as smooth as possible and the way you press the shutter is a huge factor in making sharp images.

To summarize these techniques, get your camera gear supported in the best way possible, choose an appropriate shutter speed, brace your body against the equipment so that you almost become part of it and finally squeeze the shutter button with the most subtle of movements. Remember to utilize the three P’s of wildlife photograph (Practice, Practice, Practice) and you have my guarantee that you’ll be well on your way to producing sharper images.

Paul Burwell is the owner Burwell School of Photography

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

Making Sharper Wildlife Photographs – [Part 2 of 2]

Digital Photography School

March 6, 2013
10 Techniques for Amazing Portraits

A guest post by San Diego Wedding Photographer, Wayne Yuan

As full-time photographers shooting 30+ weddings a year, we have to admit, sometimes it’s easy to fall into the same old formulas when it comes to portraits. Even with new poses, taking portraits can become very mundane if the same compositions and angles are used for every couple–we’ve definitely been through that creative rut where our pictures start looking very familiar. Throughout the years, we’ve challenged ourselves to stay on top of our game with a few useful techniques. Here are some of our best tips to help keep things fresh and unique for each couple.

1. Use a longer lens.

A lot of photographers out there say that their 50mm is a “must-have” portrait lens, but what a mid-range lens offers is a very familiar perspective, something that our eyes are used to seeing all the time. To create a more interesting image, we avoid shooting portraits in mid-range because the images look too ordinary. Most of our portraits are shot at 200mm or 85mm to create beautiful image compression that a 50mm would not be able to produce. The compression will not only flatter your subjects with less feature distortion, but shooting at a longer focal length will also create more dramatic background blur (bokeh) and brings the background closer to your subject. It may be more difficult to communicate with your subjects while shooting at 200mm, but the difference will be apparent and well worth it. Our solution to this problem was to have one of us interact with our couples at close range while the other shoots from a distance.

2. Find angles that aren’t eye level.

Many times we are stuck seeing what is right in front of us. It is, after all, the easiest answer to everything. Challenge yourself to find a different angle from above or below eye-level to bring a new perspective to the image. This technique can also be used to flatter subjects of different body types and heights. In the image below, we asked the bride to sit on the ground in order to focus on her face and hair ornament while blurring out the rest of her body. It makes a more interesting image than the typical straight-on bridal portrait.

3. Use off-camera flash.

During a wedding, our speedlites are never on-camera, even during the reception. Flash rarely flatters a person’s face when it is straight on, and the image looses its dimensionality. Using flash to light our subjects from the side, we are able to create both light and shadow on our subjects, flattering their features and bringing a greater range of highlights and shadows to the image. It also helps us bring out details in the background to create a more dramatic landscape.

4. Overpower the sun with flash.

Shooting at mid-day is no easy task when using natural light. But with some artificial lights, something as simple as a couple of speedlites can diminish the power of the sun and darken the image for better exposure. We use this technique especially when we are trying to create environmental portraits that focus on the landscape. Using our speedlites, we are able to overpower the sun and underexpose the sky while only lighting up the subject. To create this amount of artificial light, we have to use 2-4 off-camera speedlites (with no diffuser) in order to generate enough light to overpower the sun. Holding the speedlites closer to the subject (to the side) also helps put more light on the subject and allows us to underexpose the background even more for dramatic effect.

5. Find back-light.

It takes time and practice to train your eye to find great light. Once you learn how to “find the light” in any situation, it will help you master taking some amazing portraits. Lighting is, after all, the essence of photographic images. Whether you are using the sun, a window, or an ordinary light bulb, these light sources can be used to create beautiful edge light (a.k.a. hair light, rim light) when the light source is place behind your subject. The effect that rim light creates can enhance the dimension of your image by separating your subject from the background, outlining and focusing on your subject.

6. Look for silhouettes and reflections.

Learning to look for reflective surfaces and silhouetting opportunities will greatly enhance your images both visually and in depth. For silhouettes, it is key to find a strong light source and place it behind your couple; this could be anything from the sky to a window or even a patch of light on a wall. For reflections, try to be creative with the different types of reflective surfaces; sometimes, the best reflections are found in unexpected places like floors, glass, puddles, and granite walls.

7. Shoot through objects.

When objects are in our way, we like to use them to our advantage. In fact, many times we are purposely trying to find elements to place in the foreground of our image. Learning to find holes between tree branches, abstract objects, or even ordinary household items are simple, everyday things that will help enhance your images by bringing an interesting, and sometimes colorful, element to your composition. Using a longer lens will help blur out the foreground objects to frame the subjects in a more intimate way.

8. Use the sun as a light source.

It is not uncommon for photographers to avoid shooting in the sun and run for the open shade for an easier and even exposure. We covered back-lighting earlier as a solution for shooting in harsh sun-lit situations. But sunlight can also be used as a direct spotlight on your subject. By exposing for the areas directly in contact with the sun, the background and surrounding shadows will dramatically darken, drawing focus and light to your subjects. Applying this technique to different lighting situations will create varying visual effects.

9. Use video light for night portraits.

Video lights are very useful when no light source is available to light up your subject in dark situations. The great thing about video lights is that they are a constant light source so you can see what the image will look like in camera. We use LED video lights, which give us enough power to last 2+ hours. They are a great alternative to speedlites for low light situations and are quicker to adjust for dark situations.

10. Use gels on your speedlites.

Adding CTO (orange) or CTB (blue) gels to your speedlites will change the mood of your image. Sometimes shooting in an environment which is overcast and very blue, adding a CTB gel will warm up the whole environment if you adjust the white balance correctly. CTO gels can also be used to emulate sunlight.

For more examples of on how to take great images, check out our website: San Diego Wedding Photographer – Wayne Yuan

Wayne and Angela are photographers/owners of Wayne Yuan Photography. They live in San Diego and New York area, but shoot weddings worldwide.

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Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

10 Techniques for Amazing Portraits

Digital Photography School

March 6, 2013
OPINION: Why Photoshop is Ruining Landscape Photography

This opinion piece was contributed by Declan O’Neill from www.newzealandscape.com.

The winner of one of Britain’s most prestigious photographic competitions was stripped of his title recently because of excessive use of Photoshop. David Byrne was the winner of the Landscape Photographer of The Year award and a £10,000 ($ 16000) prize but has now had his title and prize money taken away in a surprise move by the organisers of the competition which is supported by Epson, The Sunday Times Magazine and The National Theatre.

The dramatic reversal came about after other photographers pointed out that the image had been photoshoped to include clouds not in the original image. Other photographers pointed to the impossibility of the sun casting shadows in different directions.

Mr. Byrne defended his manipulation of the image by pointing out that altering images is hardly new. He was quoted by The Daily Mail as saying, ‘The purists out there were not happy. Messing about with pictures has been done for over 100 years. I treat my photography as art and I try to make the best looking picture.’

Those three sentences neatly define the battle lines which have been drawn over the digital manipulation of photographs.

First of all he seems to suggest that anyone who objects to manipulating images is a ‘purist’. It seems clear that ‘purist’ is not a compliment in this context. What this veiled insult fails to acknowledge is that many photographers do not object to using Photoshop to enhance photographs but they do object to its use in altering photographs.

The problem comes in defining when enhancement crosses a boundary into alteration. Removing power lines from a landscape is one thing. Changing the colour of the sky from grey to orange quite another. It isn’t as if there is any shortage of sunsets around to photograph and the joy of landscape photography is capturing the elusive, not manufacturing it with software. It’s no crime to create a sunset sky, it’s just rather sad that someone would need to do it when there is so much natural colour to photograph. How many times have you looked at a super saturated landscape photograph and known instinctively that it’s false? Yet we see these photographs constantly win awards in club and national competitions. Anyone who has studied the way sunlight paints the landscape from different angles knows how to capture the best colour without needing Photoshop. That’s what being out in the field teaches you. You learn how to use the light to maximum effect.

The second defence that Mr. Byrne advances is that photographers have been ‘messing about’ with photographs for a long time. His choice of words is both unfortunate and revealing. Photographers should respect their subject matter. You do not have to go very far to capture truly beautiful natural photographs and the idea that it’s ok to mess about with the captured image is a depressing comment on the craft of photography. This attitude tells us that the photographer has no qualms about creating a vision of what they wish they had captured, but failed.

Finally Mr. Byrne tells us that he treats his photography as ‘art’ and tries to make ‘the best looking picture’. Here is the real problem with the software tools that allow us to create our own photographs. Photography has always been a craft. Ansel Adams had no need to add clouds or alter tree shapes because his images were honest and beautiful. There is nothing wrong with painting new images with Photoshop, just don’t call it photography. It is something entirely different when a photographer wants to be an artist. An artist creates images from their imagination and that is a wonderful thing. Just leave photography to record what the camera sees not what the photographer wishes it had seen.

What is extraordinary is that Mr. Byrne should have won such a prestigious title as Landscape Photographer of the Year. Luckily, his alterations were brought to the attention of the judges who had been unable to detect them for themselves. But for the ‘purists’ his accolade would have reinforced the idea that we can alter images in the name of ‘art’ and still claim they are photographs. If something good can come out of this sorry debacle it is the lesson that landscape does not need our interference. The true joy of landscape photography lies in capturing its pristine beauty. Painting it in the crude lipstick of Photoshop is both unnecessary and an admission that we cannot leave it to speak for itself through our lenses.

Declan O’Neill is a photographer who lives in Nelson New Zealand. He specialises in landscape photography and runs photographic tours of the South Island. His website can be found at www.newzealandscape.com.

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

OPINION: Why Photoshop is Ruining Landscape Photography

Digital Photography School

March 6, 2013
Apple: The Perfect Retail Experience

Disclaimer: Obviously people will have different experiences at different Apple stores at different times. This is just a single experience, in a single store, at a single point in time.

Today is my daughter Holly’s birthday. She’s been asking for an iPad for her birthday for months. I’ve been telling her that an iPad is too expensive, but I broke down yesterday after work and stopped by the Union Square Apple Store in San Francisco to buy her one. She was thrilled and ecstatic to receive it — can you tell by her photo above

I’ve purchased many things at many different Apple Stores over the years, but yesterday’s experience was so fluid and flawless that I thought I’d write a short post about it.

5pm (approximately) I walk into the store. I don’t get more than two feet into the store before making eye contact with an Apple employee strategically positioned by the door. “Welcome to Apple,” he says. “Can I help you something?”

“I’d like to buy an iPad,” I reply.

“Ok, great,” he says. “Would you like an iPad or an iPad Mini?”

“I’d like an iPad,” I reply.

“Ok, do you just want the basic 16GB one?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, hold on, I’ll be right back.”

Less than two minutes later he returns with a new iPad in a shrink wrapped box.

“Would you like to put this on a credit card?”

“Yes,” handing him my American Express.

“Can I see your ID?”

I hand him my drivers license, he confirms it’s me, hands it back, says thanks and runs my card through a hand held device.

While the device is running the card he asks me, “are you buying your iPad for business or pleasure?”

I tell him that it’s for my daughter’s birthday. “Great,” he says.

A few seconds later he hands me his electronic device and asks me to sign it with my finger. I sign it with my finger.

“Would you like a printed copy of your receipt, or is just an email fine,” he asks. (God I HATE printed receipts, email receipts are sooooo awesome!).

I tell him that an email is perfect. “Ok,” he confirms, “to tom(at)thomashawk.com.”

“That would be great,” I answer back.

“Alright we’re all set then,” he says, “do you need a bag?”

“No,” I reply, “thanks for the help,” and put the iPad into my own bag and walk out the store — and just like that, four minutes later, I’m done.

This morning I received a follow up survey in my email about my experience at the Apple store. How could I not give them the highest possible ranking in every category?

Being able to walk into a store and purchase something right there at the entrance in less than five minutes is the absolute height of customer service. It’s delighting a customer who will certainly remember that experience the next time it comes to making a purchase and who will be back. No wonder so many people are buying Apple products.

Thomas Hawk Digital Connection

March 6, 2013
Genius: Make a Gaffer’s Tape Key Fob

Like most photographers—especially lighting photographers—I love me some gaffer's tape.

Today, a great way to carry enough gaff on your physical person at all times to fix a light mod, tack a piece of fabric to a wall for a headshot backdrop, or whatever.

Get your MacGuyver on, below.

Read more »
Strobist

March 5, 2013
5 Tips to for Getting Sharper Images

An important element of photography is getting sharp, crisp images. You may be struggling with focus, especially if you are fairly new to DSLR photography. It is extremely frustrating to go out shooting, assuming you’ve got nice clear, sharp images, only to get home to find out they aren’t quite as sharp, or even in focus, as you had hoped.

There are several things you can do to improve your chances of getting sharper images. Here are a few to get you started, if you have other tips please share them in the comments below.

Five steps for achieving sharp images

#1 Pick the focus point manually

On most SLRs, and some of the mirrorless or four thirds cameras, there is an option of selecting what point it uses to focus. Meaning, when you look through the camera and see some flashing dots or squares (or something similar to the image on the right), those are your focus zones or spots. Make sure it is NOT set for the camera selecting which of those spots are targeted for focusing. When the camera chooses where to focus it can often pick the wrong thing. If you have a subject that is behind something in the foreground the camera will usually pick the closest object, which is not your intention, and you’ll end up with the wrong thing in focus.

Find the setting that allows you to adjust which target focus zone the camera uses to focus. Depending on the camera make and model, that can usually be adjusted with a dial or joy stick on the back of the camera, while you are looking through the view finder. This frees you to choose the most appropriate zone or spot for your subject or scene.

#2 Select the right focus mode

Most cameras have a few different types of focus modes. On Canon you’ll see them as Single (One Shot), AI (stands for Artificial Intelligence) Focus and AI Servo. On Nikon the modes are AF-S, AF-C and AF-A. Choose the one that bests fits for the subject you’re photographing.

Single (or AF-S) means that the camera will focus and lock on a single object and will not refocus until you release your finger from the shutter button. AI Servo (AF-C) is for continuous focusing when you have a moving subject. In this mode when you depress the shutter button half way, the camera will continue to focus on the subject as it moves away or towards you. It does not lock focus until you press the button down fully and take the photo. In AI Focus (AF-C) the camera will choose between the previous two based on whether the subject is moving or not.

#3 Set your minimum shutter speed accordingly

There is much debate about this subject in terms of how slow is too slow for hand holding your camera. Some instructors will say 1/60th of a second, I tend to use another rule of thumb which is 1 over the focal length of your lens. So if you are shooting with a 200mm lens, then 1/200 is how fast you need to be shooting to get rid of blur caused by camera shake. The longer lens you select, the more amplified any movement will become. If you are shooting with a cropped sensor camera, remember that 200mm is now acting like a 350mm so that changes your minimum shutter speed to 1/400. If you use a lens that has image stabilization then you can often stretch it a little bit more, say one or two stops, depending on how steady your hands are. You also want to make sure you are holding your camera in the most stable position with your left hand UNDER the body and lens (sort of cupping it) and both elbows in tight to your body. Then, hold your breath and shoot!

#4 Make use of back button focusing

Another much debated topic is whether or not to use the back button focusing option now available on most DSLRs. I’m not here to get into that debate, if you want to know more about it you can read 3 Reasons Why You Should Switch to Back Button Focus by James Brandon. The basic idea is that instead of using your shutter button to focus, you separate the focus function to a button on the back of the camera, that you press with your thumb.

Taken using back-button focus

I use it for many things including; portraits where I want the subjects off centre and don’t want to do “focus, lock, recompose” for every frame, any time I want to focus on a moving target (you have a better chance of getting it sharp this way than with the shutter button focus), for HDR photography when I’m bracketing and don’t want the focus to shift accidentally between shots, for night photography when I focus with the assistance of a flashlight and don’t want it to move afterwards (other option is switch to manual focus every time but it’s too easy to forget to focus at all then).

It does take a little getting use to, but after a friend of mine that shoots sports for the local newspaper showed me how to use it properly I never looked back. So when she says it’s better for action focus on critical, fast moving subjects, I listen cause she knows what she’s talking about!

#5 Use a tripod and remote trigger or release

Tri-pod = three legs. Three is better than two right? In some the case of photography – yes! The tripod is your friend.

I think you know what they are and what they’re for, but not many photographers own one or use it. Placing your camera on a tripod will help you get sharper images, if you’re doing it right. Get a good sturdy one, don’t cheap out on a $ 49 tripod on sale at the big box store and put your $ 2000 SLR on it. Do you put cheap tires on your high end sports car – I think not! A flimsy tripod won’t do you any good if it can’t hold the weight of your camera and is constantly slipping or loosening. Worse case scenario has your whole rig crashing to the ground, not good. Invest in a good one, do some research, make sure it is made for still photos not video, and it can hold the weight of your camera. A lightweight one made of carbon fibre is a good option, but expect to pay more for that option.

In addition to a tripod I also suggest getting a remove trigger or shutter release. They come in a few varieties including ones that attach directly to the camera, wireless ones, and even fancy programmable ones for doing timed exposures and auto exposure brackets. Like anything, the more fancy shmancy features you want, the more $ $ $ you will pay. But do get one, because it allows you to fire the camera without touching it, thus reducing any possible vibrations during the exposure. I also tell my students to turn of the IS (or VR) on their lens once the camera is on tripod. This is because the IS/VR runs a little motor inside the lens that vibrates it to help compensate for camera shake. On tripod you do NOT want your lens vibrating, even a tiny bit. The camera manufacturers would like us to believe that their cameras are smart enough to know when that’s happened and turn off the IS automatically. Maybe they are. Maybe they aren’t. I like to take no chances, so I just turn it off.

Me playing with a view camera at a mock western town in AZ. The guy posing as the photographer let me have a look through it, for old times sake.

When I started photography school (technical college) the first camera they allowed us to use was a 4×5″ view camera. If you’ve ever seen one you’ll know it’s not possible to use it without a tripod. In hindsight, some 25 years later, I think those photo school instructors were actually pretty smart! At the time I just thought they wanted us to suffer hauling all this heavy gear around. By putting the camera on a tripod you will instantly slow down and put more time into setting up your shot. With the advent of digital and the popularity of SLRs and now even micro four thirds and mirror-less cameras, it’s become so easy to just grab the camera and fire off a few images. So besides the obvious benefit of stabilizing your camera so you can shoot at slower shutter speeds then we discussed in #3 above (if you want to do night photography it’s essential), using a tripod also forces you to put a little more time and effort into it. I find when that happens it often results in a better image aesthetically as well as technically.

Well this was a longer tip than I expected to write, whew! To sum up, if you are having trouble with blurry images, try these tips out for yourself. I’m pretty sure you’ll have a bit more success.

So give it a go, and let me know how it’s working for you!

Post originally from: Digital Photography Tips.

Check out our more Photography Tips at Photography Tips for Beginners, Portrait Photography Tips and Wedding Photography Tips.

5 Tips to for Getting Sharper Images

Digital Photography School

March 5, 2013